1 Kings 11:4-8 – Don't be derailed by distraction

The main reason God forbade Israel’s kings, Solomon included, from marrying foreign women was because they would bring the idols that they worship with them. This was obviously seen in Solomon’s case. And in his old age, they influenced him to worship their idols as well. Verse 5 said that when Solomon was old, his wives influenced him to worship other gods. His heart was turned toward pursuing after them. Instead of being wholly devoted to the covenant LORD his God, his heart was turned to venerate other gods. What all this meant was that God ceased to be the primary focus of his life. Once this happened, the next thing naturally happened, he would just go into idolatry.  

Solomon did not walk in the footstep of David who wholeheartedly pursued the LORD God. He was distracted by his many wives, and so he followed them to worship their gods. Doing this made no logical sense. The fathers of his foreign wives worshipped their gods because they perceived that it was from them that they received their power to conquer. But  Solomon was different, he had conquered many nations with the help of the LORD God and was at the zenith of his power. So it made no perfect sense that he should want to pivot to worship lesser beings.

The gods that Solomon had in his whole array included Ashtoreth, the Sidonian goddess. This was a fertility goddess from Canaan that Israel had been encountering since entering the promised land. Then he also worshipped Milcom, better known as Molech. Molech was the detestable idol of the Ammonites which encouraged human sacrifice. Solomon also worshipped Chemosh, a god that the people of Moab would honor. This is also another god that encouraged human sacrifice. What was sickening was that he even built a high place on the mountain east of Jerusalem for Chemosh and Molech. Verse 8 suggests that he had high places built so that his wives could burn incense and sacrifice to their idols.

Behold how far the mighty king had fallen! He was distracted. This is how godly man may also fall. Distraction will make a person take liberty with oneself. Then unwittingly, one will soon become unrestrained in his or her freedom even in the face of danger to one’s walk with God. As one thing leads to another, the person will soon give scant concern for the God whose life he or she owes. When that happens, the fear of the Lord will also vanish, leading to unmitigated spiritual disaster. One area we all need to handle in life is distraction. In a world where our attention is often challenged by competing voices and interests, we need to stay focused. We need to set our hearts on pleasing God. There is a need for us to practice the consciousness of God’s presence every moment of every day. We need to cultivate a spirit like that of Caleb and Joshua of old. God said of both of them in Numbers 32:12 that “…they have followed the LORD fully”. Don’t get distracted, stay wholeheartedly devoted to God!